Learning ArcGIS Python Scripting

Course details

Have you ever needed to find all the broken links in a set of map documents? Or convert units before loading map data? Python is the gateway for automating common GIS tasks. Are you ready to get up to speed? In this course, designed for experienced ArcGIS users, join instructor Jennifer Harrison—the founder of TeachMeGIS—as she shows you how to produce faster, deeper insights into your GIS data by adding Python scripting to ArcGIS.

Start with an overview of the basics, including strings, variables, and conditional statements. Jennifer helps you get comfortable writing scripts in IDLE, the integrated development environment for Python. Explore the skills required for writing output to the screen, passing command-line arguments into scripts, using list functions to get to the ArcGIS objects, and reading from and writing to a log file. By the end of this course, you’ll also be prepared to attach your script to a tool in ArcGIS Pro and create help documentation for a script tool.

Concepts

Introduction

Getting started with Python in ArcGIS
What you should know before watching this course
ArcGIS project files throughout this course

Introduction to Scripting and the Python Language

Scripting overview
Where Python is used in ArcGIS
Where to write your scripts - ArcGIS Notebooks
Write your first Python script
Python syntax rules
Comments and pseudocode

Strings, Numbers, and Variables

Use variables to make scripts flexible
Work with numeric values
Work with strings
Working with strings in ArcGIS
String manipulation
String methods and functions

Getting to ArcGIS with Python

Object-oriented programming (OOP) overview
Incorporating Python libraries in a script
The ArcPy library
Writing a script that uses ArcPy
ArcPy objects, properties, and methods
Geoprocessing with Python and ArcPy
Model builder for jump-starting your script
The ArcGIS API for Python library - Getting to web GIS

Using List Functions to Get to the ArcGIS Objects

Working with lists
List methods and functions
Use loops to work with lists
Write a script using list methods and a for-loop
Nested loops
Conditional statements
Write a script using ArcGIS API
Getting to the properties of GIS data with Describe
Challenge - Properties of layers
Solution - Properties of layers

Reading from and Writing to a File

Read from and write to a text file
Write a script that reads from and writes to a file
Write a script that records broken links
Challenge - Describe feature classes and write to a file
Solution - Describe feature classes and write to a file

Attaching Your Script to a Tool in ArcGIS Pro

Making scripts dynamic
Creating a custom toolbox

Creating Help Documentation for a Script

Creating help documentation for a script tool

Conclusion

Next steps and additional resources